Lucia
by babybel16
Summary: Lucia was adopted by Andromeda Tonks after her parents died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Despite her curiosity, Andromeda refuses to tell her who her birth parents were- so Lucia and Teddy decide to find out for themselves. But, after Teddy falls for the beautiful Victoire, Lucia is scared she'll ruin their friendship even more...
1. Prologue

'You have got everything, Lucia, haven't you?' Andromeda fussed over her, straightening the collar of her cloak. Lucia let her; after all, Teddy didn't tolerate her babying him anymore.

'I checked three times, Andromeda', she managed a smile, though her foster mother had now produced a comb from her handbag and was attacking her head.

'Oh, Luce', she sighed deeply, as if her tangled curls were a mortal injury, 'Everyone's going to see you at the Sorting...'

'She looks fine. Come on, Luce, Victoire's waiting', Teddy grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the train. Lucia barely had time to shout goodbye to Andromeda and grab hold of her trunk before he'd dragged her onto the train. They fought their way through the throng of students, ignoring a lone Prefect trying to keep order, and tumbled into a compartment.

'All right, Victoire?' Teddy said nervously, running a hand through his hair- which was electric blue this morning. The stunning blonde girl sitting in the compartment beamed at him, showing perfect white teeth.

'Teddy!' she said throatily, standing up to kiss him on both cheeks. His face was a deep, painful red when she pulled away, 'And 'oo eez your friend?'

'That's Lucia', he waved a hand carelessly in Lucia's direction, who had been staring, entranced, at Victoire's hair- blonde, smooth and shiny, it was far superior to her own.

'_Enchante_', Victoire kissed her cheeks too, which she hadn't been expecting, 'Teddy 'as told me much about you'.

Lucia didn't know how to reply, so she quickly sat down- and immediately leapt back up with a cry of pain. She'd sat on something black and furry, which had promptly hissed and swiped at her arm. The creature leapt into Victoire's arms, who- far from scolding it for hurting Lucia- clutched it tightly to her chest as if it was the one who had been attacked.

'Minou!' she kissed its furry head, and Lucia realised it was only a grumpy-looking black cat, 'Lucille didn't mean to sit on you, eet was an accident-'

Lucia didn't bother to correct her; she was too busy fumbling for a tissue to stem the blood flowing from the deep cut on her arm. Never mind her hair, what would Andromeda say if she stood up at the Sorting with blood all down her robes?

The other two largely ignored her, Victoire flashing her a radiant smile now and again over the hissing beast in her arms. Teddy hung on her every word, almost forgetting to change out of his Muggle clothing as the train slowed. They spilled out onto the dark platform, jostling each other for space.

'Firs' years over here! Firs' years!'

Several people sported scratches from Minou by the time they had formed a haphazard queue behind Hagrid. Lucia got into a boat with Teddy. They were soon joined by a curly haired boy and, to Lucia's disappointment, Victoire and Minou. Still, their presence didn't dampen her excitement at her first sight of the castle looming over the hills. All around her, students called out, pointed, laughing in their excitement- but they fell silent when they reached the door, so Hagrid's knock boomed out over the lake even more loudly than usual. They were led into a room by a jolly, dark-haired man with a pointed beard. He introduced himself as Professor Aguile, the Transfiguration teacher.

'Now, now, don't look so frightened!' he said jovially, 'I don't bite! Although _he_ might!'

He pointed his wand and the suit of armour in the corner bent towards them, snapping massive jaws as its head transformed into that of a bear. The trick was clearly meant to put them at ease, but most people screamed. Two identical, pale boys with rather protuberant eyes stepped forward to touch it, but Professor Aguile hastily changed the bear back again. Then, before Lucia knew it, they were filing into the hall with hundreds of eyes upon them. A lot of people muttered; she saw a few people pointing at her and began to wish she'd let Andromeda comb her hair...

Lucia wondered, as the line in front of her became shorter and shorter, which house she'd really like to be in. The curly haired boy who'd shared her boat, _Finnigan, Aidan, _became a Gryffindor. Everyone seemed to expect a lot of Gryffindors, though she didn't think Ravenclaw sounded too bad. She knew people still moaned about Hufflepuff, but at least then she'd be in the same house as Teddy...

And Slytherin. Since Voldemort had been defeated, it wasn't judged so harshly- but it was still, without doubt, the worst of the four.

_Yes_, she thought happily as the protuberant eyed twins, Scamander and Scamander, were made Ravenclaws, _I'd like to be a Ravenclaw._

Araminta Tofty became a Hufflepuff, then it was Lucia's turn. She walked towards the front, suddenly nervous.

_Don't worry, _she told herself, recalling a story she'd heard from Teddy, _If the Hat tries to put you in another house, you can tell it you want to be in Ravenclaw-_

But she didn't have time to ask the Hat anything. As soon as it touched her messy curls, it screamed "_Slytherin!"_

Lucia couldn't move. How could she be in Slytherin? Surely she was clever enough to be a Ravenclaw, or brave enough to be a Gryffindor? Though Professor Aguile was holding the Hat out to _Towe, Amanda_, who was a confused-looking girl near the front, Lucia remained frozen on the stool.

'Miss Tonks,' Professor Aguile tapped her shoulder and she half-fell off the stool, stumbling towards the Slytherin table. Unable to look at anyone, cheeks burning, she sat down- and saw, out of the corner of her eye, a flash of blue. Teddy was staring at her, clearly trying to look sympathetic, but his shock was clear in his eyes. Lucia turned away, staring down at the table, not hearing a word of Professor McGonagall's welcoming speech.

**I know Victoire isn't likely to be in the same year as Teddy, but I suppose she could be in the year below...**

**Anyway. Artistic license and whatnot. Lucia's surname is "Tonks" because Andromeda adopted her, not because she's any relation. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter One

'It doesn't matter', Teddy insisted at breakfast the next morning, 'No one cares that you're in Slytherin. It doesn't matter anymore'.

He reached out and speared a sausage on her fork, shoving it into his mouth whole. A girl with a mane of coppery curls, whom Lucia recognised from her dormitory, stopped behind him and wrinkled her nose.

'Your boyfriend's a pig', she said to Lucia, in a thick Scottish accent. Teddy nearly choked.

'I'm not-'

'He's not-'

Lucia and Teddy babbled in unison, but the girl only raised her eyebrows.

'Right, he's not, I don't care', she waved Teddy away, 'Get back to your own table, I'm sitting there'.

She plonked herself down next to Lucia and smiled at her, showing a mouth full of braces.

'I know', she rolled her eyes, tapping her teeth, 'I got these three weeks before I got my letter, and no one else has them here. I asked one of the Prefects, though, and he reckons I'll learn how to shrink my teeth so I won't need them. I'm Moira. Moira Douvall'.

'Okay', Lucia stammered, still trying to register what Moira had said. Moira raised her eyebrows again.

'What's your name then?' she looked at her suspiciously between forkfuls of scrambled egg.

'Lucia Tonks', Lucia mumbled, still shy of this girl's audacity, 'We- we share a dormitory, don't we?'

'Yeah', Moira nodded slowly, as if she was stupid, but in a second she was smiling again, 'I love your hair. Wish mine went like that'.

'Oh, you don't!' she began to relax a little; Moira seemed completely harmless- for a Slytherin, at least.

_What are you talking about? _A voice in her head scolded her; _You're a Slytherin, aren't you?_

'Oh!' Moira smacked her arm excitedly before she had a chance to say anything else, 'Look, it's our timetables!'

Their Head of House, Professor Shippes, heard Moira six seats away. Lucia immediately worried she'd be in trouble, but Moira seemed to have a knack for getting people to like her. Even the strikingly crow-like woman, who Lucia thought would be better suited to manage Ravenclaw house, gave her a thin smile.

'Indeed, Miss Douvall', she said dryly, arching one thin black eyebrow, 'I do hope you'll be as enthusiastic in my class as you are at the moment!'

'That depends, Professor', Moira said cheerfully, accepting her timetable, 'What subject do you teach?'

'I'll be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts', she handed Lucia her timetable without looking at her, still smirking at Moira, 'Should you choose to turn up, of course. I do believe I overheard you telling your classmates that the only subject you were interested in was Potions?'

'I'm sure you'll understand, Professor', Moira patted her hair, 'I've got to learn how to make my own hair potion, you know? Like _Sleekeazy's.'_

'Ah. Well, once you've had your fill of beauty potions, I do hope you'll find the time for some counter-curses, Miss Douvall'.

She swept away along the table, and Moira snatched Lucia's timetable from her. She glanced at each of them and grinned.

'You're in my first lesson', she tossed the timetable back to Lucia without a word of apology, 'Defence Against the Dark Arts, with the Ravenclaws. Brilliant!'

'I thought you just told her your favourite class was Potions?'

'Yeah', Moira rolled her eyes, stuffing the timetable into her bag, 'I'm going to tell the Potions teacher that my favourite subject's Charms. No one likes a suck up, Lucia. They'll like to think they've won you over, see? At least, my mum's a teacher, and that's what she says. What do your parents do? Are they magical or what?'

'Well, they were', Lucia averted her eyes, embarrassed, 'I...I don't know much about them. They died during the Battle of Hogwarts, so they must have been magical, but I don't- I don't know who they were'.

'Oh', Moira only looked slightly troubled, 'I'm sorry to hear that, then'.

'It's all ri-'

'How come you don't know anything about them?' she seemed unable to contain her own nosiness, Lucia swore her curls had swelled with new information, 'We could go to the library at break and look them up! What were their names?'

'I don't know their names', Lucia said, and out loud she realised how odd that sounded. Hadn't she ever asked Andromeda who her parents were?

Hadn't Andromeda ever told her?

'Well, that's weird', Moira frowned, her freckly nose wrinkling like a puppy's, 'How come you don't-'

She was interrupted by the bell, and students began to swarm towards the doors at the end of the Great Hall. Moira grabbed Lucia's arm and dragged her with her, and they headed off towards their first ever magical class.

'Now, this is not a test'.

Professor Shippes' low, sincere voice echoed out through the classroom, but Lucia found it thoroughly reassuring. Though slightly put off by her appearance, and the stigma surrounding her house, she'd begun to glimpse a kindly old woman through the professor's icy manner.

'This is just a little exercise to see what you can do. Most of you will only be able to shoot sparks at each other, but that is not the point. The point is to see which of you can produce either an effective jinx, or an effective Shield Charm. I expect, within a couple of lessons, most of you to be able to both perform and block jinxes like-' she flicked her wand casually, '-the Jelly Legs jinx'.

Evidently, like the other teachers, she could cast spells non-verbally. Moira grabbed hold of Lucia to prevent herself from falling as her legs began to shake, but she was laughing. Professor Shippes gave her the tiniest of smiles and flicked her wand again, removing the jinx.

'Now, all of you, pair up with a student from the opposite house. We'll have a bit of friendly competition. Twenty points to the person who casts the most successful Shield Charm, and another twenty for the most effective jinx. Go.'

Lucia found herself standing next to a snooty-looking blonde boy; it seemed they were the only two in the room that everyone else was avoiding. Lucia smiled nervously at the boy, but he sneered at her.

'Don't think this means we're friends, freak', he said menacingly, wand drawn, 'I know what you are'.

Lucia took a step back from him. Fortunately Professor Shippes was moving between the pairs, and her steely eyes hovered on Lucia.

'Practice once first, without wands', she said, and the boy had to lower his wand from pointing at Lucia's chest, 'One, two, three- _protego!'_

The spell echoed around the room, unfamiliar on the lips of first years. Lucia was very nervous. She'd heard the Shield Charm was extremely difficult to master, and she'd never known anyone to be asked to perform it in their first year.

Still, they were all in the same boat. Weren't they?

'Ravenclaws, prepare to cast your Shield Charms', Professor Shippes called, and then turned to address the students from her own house, 'Please don't attempt any complicated jinxes. You'll only set someone on fire, and we don't want that. Now, whenever you're ready. One-'

Lucia saw the look in the eyes of the blonde boy as he raised his wand. She was sure he would try to cast something much worse than a Shield Charm, but whether or not he would succeed was the question-

'Two-'

She'd have to protect herself, and the spell seemed to be ingrained in her memory, Lucia raised her wand easily-

'Three!'

_'Crucio!'_


End file.
